Louisiana 
Though Louisiana had 
passed several laws 
mentioned earlier concerning 
forestry in the State, including 
a severance tax, no action 
had been taken to establish 
a State forestry organization 
and appoint a State Forester. 
Finally, Act 66 of the 1916 
legislature was passed, 
establishing a division of 
forestry under a department 
of conservation. 
R.D. Forbes was employed 
in 1917 as the first State 
Forester. His early efforts 
were to establish a fire-control 
system and qualify for 
cooperative funding under 
the Weeks law. Emphasis 
was on fire prevention, 
recognizing that most fires 
were caused by people. 
Act 145 of 1916 provided a 
general advisory board of 
four members and the 
commissioner of conservation 
as ex Officio member. The 
first funds from the severance 
tax became available April 1, 
1918, for program support 
(Forbes 1919, Burns 1968). 
16 
Alabama 
Concern for the ravages of 
fire in southern forests was 
reflected in the establishment 
of a forest commission in 
Alabama in 1907. Interest 
had been stimulated by 
Charles Mohr, who was 
employed by the Forest 
Service to do preliminary 
surveys and prepare a 
working plan for some lands 
in central Alabama. His 
comments about the damage 
to young growth caused by 
fire and observations about 
the loss of productivity of 
some burned-over lands 
being farmed for cotton 
gained support for his efforts 
and led to the introduction of 
this bill in the legislature. 
Members of the commission 
were unpaid and lacked 
legal authority to enforce 
any action. They had little 
money to work with, and 
their efforts met with little 
success. There were no 
funds for a permanent 
employee (Widner 1968). 
In 1922, a statewide 
conservation congress was 
called in Montgomery; about 
100 people attended and 
made recommendations for 
new State laws to protect 
